National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., the operator of the world’s largest derivatives exchange by trading volume, is seeking a valuation of as much as Rs 5.26 lakh crore ($55 billion) in its planned initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
The exchange has marketed its shares at 2,000 rupees to 2,100 rupees apiece during meetings with potential investors, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. NSE has concluded most of its global road show, with meetings in the Middle East still to be completed, they said.
Deliberations are ongoing and details of the deal may change, the people said. A representative for NSE declined to comment beyond reiterating that the company has filed a draft prospectus with India’s market regulator.
India’s largest stock exchange held several investor meetings across Boston, New York, San Francisco, London, Singapore and Hong Kong, according to the people. The meetings involved about 120 large global investors such as BlackRock Inc., Capital Group, GQG Partners, Janus Henderson Group Plc and Allspring Global Investments, among others, they said.
NSE had been expecting approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India for its draft prospectus by early August, but that timeline has been pushed back about three weeks because of changes to the list of selling shareholders with the addition of SBI Capital Markets Ltd., the people said. Changes to the IPO documents require a 21-day period for public feedback, they said.
The IPO is now expected to launch in the second half of September, the people said.
At the top of the marketed range, NSE would rank sixth in market value among global exchange operators, narrowly behind London Stock Exchange Group Plc and just ahead of Nasdaq Inc. CME Group Inc. and Intercontinental Exchange Inc. are currently the top of the list at about $97 billion and $86.9 billion, respectively.
The deliberations are ongoing and details of the offering, including its size, valuation and timing, could still change, the people said.
The exchange filed its draft prospectus in June for an offering that will consist entirely of secondary share sales. Existing shareholders plan to sell as many as 148.9 million shares, representing about 6% of the company, according to the filing.
NSE has appointed 20 banks to work on the share sale, including Kotak Mahindra Capital Co., JM Financial Ltd., Morgan Stanley, HSBC Holdings Plc and Citigroup Inc.
